December 20, 2022

Scripture: Hebrews 3:7-8 – “So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness.”

What it means

This was written, as most of the New Testament was, by the apostle Paul, and the title of this section of scripture is “Warning against unbelief.”  Paul spends time trying to convince his readers to not harden our hearts if we believe that we have heard directly from God, and uses a quote from Psalm 95:7-8 from King David, warning the Israelites to not repeat their lack of faith that they demonstrated in the desert on their pilgrimage to the Promised Land with Moses leading the way.  God certainly proved to be faithful during those long 40 years, and He has always demonstrated the ability to come through in the clutch – doing exactly what He says He will do.

What it means to me

We had a discussion in a recent bible study about missing opportunities that come our way that, after the fact, we realize may have been ordained moments by God to minister to someone in need.  It happens – we’re busy, we’re distracted, we’ve got other things that we’re concerned about, so we whiff when someone approaches us who happens to be in need of something.  It’s easy to get discouraged at these times and think that God will give up on ever asking us again, but I don’t believe that to be the case.  God is a God of second, third, etc. chances, and is patient with us.  He wants us to be attentive to hear His voice when He tries to get our attention, so the best way to do that is to find times to be still, and quiet, and put ourselves in the best possible position to be able to hear from Him.  If you’ve missed opportunities in the past, don’t give up – God certainly won’t give up on you, so keep listening and just be obedient when He asks you to do something.

Just a reminder that I will be participating in a "Service of the longest night" at Alcoa First UMC on Wednesday night at 7:00 if anybody is interested in keeping Jan and I company! I've actually never taken part in one of these services, but you know me - always up for something new :)

Love you, talk to you on Thursday!

In Christ,

Brian